Every term you'll encounter when hiring, working with, or evaluating a VA — defined clearly and practically by the team at MyRemoteVA. Built from 5+ years and 2,754+ hours of real managed VA delivery.
A working style where team members complete tasks independently without needing to be online at the same time. Common in remote VA relationships spanning multiple time zones — the VA completes work while the client sleeps, delivering results ready by morning.
Administrative tasks that keep a business running but are not client-facing. Examples include data entry, bookkeeping, scheduling, file management, and internal reporting — the invisible engine behind a well-run business.
Grouping similar tasks together and completing them in one focused session. A VA handling email replies, invoice updates, and social posts all within a single work block — rather than switching contexts throughout the day — works faster and more accurately.
Hours a VA spends actively working on client tasks that count toward the client's purchased plan. Tracked transparently so clients always know exactly what they paid for.
The scheduling, coordination, and maintenance of a client's appointments, meetings, reminders, and time blocks by a virtual assistant. Includes conflict resolution, timezone adjustments, and sending prep reminders before important calls.
A document or message a client provides to a VA outlining the requirements, goals, format, deadline, and context of a task before execution begins. The clearer the brief, the faster and more accurate the output.
Updating, organizing, and maintaining records in a Customer Relationship Management system — including contacts, deal stages, pipeline activity, and follow-up notes. Commonly handled by VAs in Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, or similar platforms.
A virtual assistant assigned exclusively to one client's account, learning their preferences, tools, and workflows over time. Delivers consistent, personalized support — unlike rotating freelancers who need re-briefing with every task.
The process of assigning tasks or responsibilities from a business owner or executive to a virtual assistant. Effective delegation requires a clear brief, defined deliverables, and trust in the system. It is the single highest-leverage skill a founder can develop.
The specific output a VA produces as a result of completing an assigned task — a finished spreadsheet, a published blog post, a set of scheduled social media posts, or a formatted report.
An initial consultation between a client and a VA service to assess needs, match skill sets, and outline scope before engagement begins. Helps ensure the right VA is assigned from day one.
The handling of a client's inbox by a VA, including filtering, categorizing, drafting replies, flagging urgent messages, unsubscribing from junk, and maintaining a clean, actionable inbox system.
A defined process a VA follows when a task exceeds their authority, skill, or scope — typically notifying a supervisor or the client directly rather than guessing or proceeding without guidance.
A senior-level virtual assistant who provides high-level support including project coordination, stakeholder communication, board prep, and strategic scheduling for founders, CEOs, and C-suite professionals.
MyRemoteVA's entry-level offering providing one hour of expert virtual assistant service every month at no cost. Designed to let clients experience real managed VA support risk-free before committing to a paid plan.
A virtual assistant engaged for 8 hours per day, 5 days per week — equivalent to a full-time remote employee but without hiring costs, HR overhead, or long-term contracts.
A virtual assistant who handles a broad range of administrative, operational, and support tasks. Ideal for businesses with varied, day-to-day needs rather than one specialized function.
A plan feature where unused VA hours from one billing cycle carry forward to the next renewal. Clients never lose prepaid time — a core feature across all MyRemoteVA plans.
An email management philosophy aimed at keeping a client's inbox empty or near-empty by systematically processing, archiving, delegating, or deleting every message. A common goal for clients who delegate email management to a VA.
The monitoring and reporting of Key Performance Indicators — measurable metrics a VA compiles to help a client understand business performance. Includes traffic reports, lead counts, revenue figures, task completion rates, and more.
Identifying and gathering contact information of potential customers through research, list building, and outreach. A common VA task for sales teams who need verified prospect data without spending founder time on manual research.
A structured VA offering where a company handles quality assurance, task routing, supervisor oversight, and VA assignment — as opposed to direct freelancer hiring. Clients get consistent output without managing people themselves.
Excessive oversight of a VA's every action rather than delegating with trust and reviewing outputs. A managed VA service eliminates the need for micromanagement by embedding supervision internally.
A legal contract signed by virtual assistants committing to keep a client's business information, processes, and data confidential. All MyRemoteVA assistants sign NDAs before beginning any client work.
The process of setting up a new VA relationship — including tool access, workflow documentation, communication preferences, brand guidelines, and initial task briefing. Good onboarding dramatically reduces re-work and revision cycles.
Delegating business tasks or functions to an external provider rather than handling them in-house. VA outsourcing typically covers non-core tasks — freeing internal capacity for work that actually requires the owner's expertise.
A virtual assistant engaged for 4 hours per day, 5 days per week — suitable for clients with consistent but moderate workloads who need daily presence without full-time commitment.
The coordination of tasks, timelines, resources, and stakeholders to complete a defined project. Experienced VAs manage projects using tools like Asana, Trello, Monday.com, or Notion on behalf of clients.
A review process where a supervisor or senior team member checks VA work before delivery to ensure it meets accuracy, format, and presentation standards. MyRemoteVA builds QC into every task via its supervisor-reviewed delivery model.
A work arrangement where professionals complete their responsibilities from a location outside a traditional office. VAs are by definition remote workers, collaborating entirely through digital communication and project tools.
A recurring payment arrangement where a client pays for a set number of VA hours per month, ensuring dedicated availability and continuity. Retainer plans provide predictable capacity for both client and VA.
A documented, step-by-step process a VA follows to complete recurring tasks consistently and at the expected standard — without needing re-explanation each time. SOPs are the foundation of scalable delegation.
The gradual expansion of a task beyond its original agreed boundaries. In VA engagements, clear task briefs and retainer hour limits help prevent scope creep from consuming more time than planned.
A virtual assistant with deep expertise in a specific domain — bookkeeping, social media management, SEO, WordPress development, or graphic design. Suited for clients with focused, skill-specific needs.
MyRemoteVA's quality assurance model where a team supervisor reviews every completed task before it is returned to the client — adding an extra layer of accuracy, formatting, and completeness assurance.
A clear written description of what a client needs done — including context, desired format, deadline, and any relevant assets or access. The starting point for every VA task and the single biggest factor in turnaround quality.
A software interface where clients submit tasks, track progress, communicate with their VA, and review completed deliverables. MyRemoteVA provides a custom portal — the MRVA Task Management Portal — to all plan holders.
A logged task request within a VA management system that tracks the description, status, assignee, and completion of a specific piece of work. MyRemoteVA has processed 1,750+ tickets across its client base.
Scheduling a VA's working hours to overlap with the client's business hours regardless of geographic distance. MyRemoteVA supports PST, EST, GMT, AEST, and other time zones for seamless real-time collaboration.
The time elapsed between a client submitting a task and the VA delivering the completed output. TAT varies by task complexity and is agreed upfront so clients can plan around delivery expectations.
A remote professional who provides administrative, creative, technical, or specialized support to businesses or individuals without being physically present in an office. VAs work via digital tools and communication platforms to deliver the same output as an in-house hire.
A platform where clients browse and hire individual freelance virtual assistants — such as Upwork or Fiverr. Contrasted with managed VA services (like MyRemoteVA) that handle matching, supervision, NDAs, and quality control on the client's behalf.
A VA service where the assistant works under the client's brand name — communicating with the client's customers as if they are an in-house team member. Common for agencies reselling VA support to their own clients.
The use of tools like Zapier, Make, or custom scripts to automatically trigger actions between apps — reducing repetitive manual work. VAs often set up automations on a client's behalf, then hand off maintenance once the system runs reliably.
A virtual assistant specializing in WordPress website management — including page creation, plugin updates, content uploads, SEO meta updates, and basic troubleshooting. All MyRemoteVA plans include WordPress support as a core service.
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